Newswise — Resolving post-surgical pain after thoracoscopic surgery is the focus of the latest Carl Koller Memorial Research Grant recipient, Dr. Harsha Shanthanna, MBBS, MD, MSc.
Dr. Shanthanna has been awarded the 2016 Carl Koller Memorial Research Grant from the American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine for his proposal "Preventing Persistent Post-Surgical Pain after Thoracoscopic Surgeries: a Randomized Controlled Parallel Group Multicentre Pilot Study using Ketamine and Memantine." The grant will be funded at just over $50,000, to be utilized over the next two years.
“ASRA grants have supported the conduct of quality trials leading to significant impact in the field of acute and chronic pain, and we are confident that our trial would be one of high quality and importance," Shanthanna said. "I would like to convey my sincere appreciation and thanks to the ASRA research committee."
Dr. Shanthanna is an assistant professor in the Department of Anesthesiology, Faculty of Health Sciences, at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. He performed his residency in anesthesiology at Shivaji University in Kolhapur, India, and his fellowship in anesthesia/pain management at McMaster University. He also earned his MSc and is currently pursuing a PhD in clinical epidemiology at McMaster University. He has been a member of ASRA since 2010 and has authored many peer-reviewed articles and book chapters in addition to serving on several journal review boards.
The purpose of the research will be to study the efficacy of intravenous ketamine and oral memantine on the prevention of persistent post-surgical pain, with the ultimate goal of improving the early resolution of postsurgical pain after lobectomies performed as video assisted thoracoscopic surgeries, as measured three months after surgery. The planned pilot study will be carried out at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Hamilton, Ontario, and at Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, OH. In addition to Dr. Shanthanna, the research team consists of coinvestigators, who are recognized in the field of anesthesia research and in the conduct of large multicenter trials.
Dr. Shanthanna will be invited to present his results at the 43rd Annual Regional Anesthesiology and Acute Pain Medicine Meeting, which will be held April 19-21, 2018, in New York City, in conjunction with the 2018 World Congress on Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine.
The Carl Koller Memorial Research Grant provides up to $200,000 biannually to clinical and/or laboratory studies related to any aspect of regional anesthesia and analgesia and their application to surgery. The first grant was given in 1986.
Donations to the Carl Koller Memorial Research Grant fund may be made online, along with donations to ASRA’s Chronic Pain Research Grant fund. For more information, visit www.asra.com/donate/submit.
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